For several years, investigators have relied on the extraordinary capacity of dogs to smell to demonstrate that a suspect was present at a crime scene. But what about cats, which are their greatest adversaries?
Recently, investigators from Flinders University in Australia concluded that they, too, can be of great use in solving some types of criminal cases.
The latest research, led by Heidi Monkman and Mariya Goray from the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders, studied samples from housecats collected at different times.
For this study, 20 cats were sampled from multiple households to identify the presence and origin of human DNA. In almost eighty percent of the samples obtained from the felines, there was evidence of human DNA on the cat haircoat.
The first results suggest that domestic cats have human DNA, most likely from humans living in the same household.
More research is needed to determine the extent to which cats and other home pets pick up human genetic material.
The researchers discovered no discernible correlation between the quantity of human DNA found on the cats’ fur and the length of time since the animals had been in human company.
There was also no distinction between them in terms of the length of their hair. In addition, the researchers determined that seventy percent of the DNA profiles they created from the feline samples were accurate enough to be linked to specific individuals.
A first step in a new direction
The fact that this is the first study of its kind to investigate how DNA can be passed from felines to their owners makes these findings all the more encouraging.
According to a statement that was published on Phys.org, Heidi Monkman stressed that the collecting of human DNA is vital in the investigation of crime scenes.
Although DNA-related research has blossomed over the past decade, there remains a lack of data on the relationship that links pets such as cats and dogs with human DNA transfer.
Furthermore, the forensics expert believes that these furry friends can significantly assist in discovering the locations of the people who live in a house as well as the identities of any guests who have recently been there.
This study is just the newest cat-related research. A recent study found that pusses could identify not only their owner’s voice but also detect when the owner modulates their pitch for cat talk.
At this point, is there anything these felines can do?